2_Detroit Lions2

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SCOREBOARD
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
PLAYOFF FINISH --- --- WC --- ---
REGULAR SEASON W-L 7-9 4-12 10-6 6-10 2-14
POINTS PER GAME 24.7 23.3 29.6 22.6 16.4
POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME 23.5 27.3 24.2 23.1 30.9
YARDS PER GAME 392 409 396 339 299
YARDS ALLOWED PER GAME 347 341 368 344 392
TURNOVERS 34 33 23 25 41
TAKEAWAYS 22 17 34 29 23
Key Additions:
S James Ihedigbo, WR Golden Tate
Key Subtractions:
WR Nate Burleson, QB Shaun Hill, DE Willie Young
Rookies:
TE Eric Ebron, LB Kyle Van Noy, C Travis Swanson, CB Nevin Lawson,
DE Larry Webster, DT Caraun Reid, WR T.J. Jones, K Nate Freese
Matthew Stafford
LEON HALIP/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
as the offense. With players like Ndamukong Suh and Nick
Fairley anchoring the line, the Lions have a talented core that
could potentially develop into a dominant defense. However,
there are also problems in the defense that have to be addressed
and a history of meltdowns that needs to stop.
Suh is perhaps the best representation of what is both right
and wrong with the Lions. Suh is a very talented defensive
tackle, good at both stuffing the run and rushing the passer, but
has also developed a reputation for emotional meltdowns and
cheap shots. The same can be said of teammate Nick Fairley,
who was penalized three times for unnecessary roughness last
season. Suh seemed to be unmotivated as the season progressed,
failing to record a single sack in the month of December.
When Suh is on his game, he can be a dominant inside force.
What the Lions need is to back him up with a strong secondary.
Passing defense has been a problem in Detroit for a very long time
now, and the team didn’t do much to address this problem in the
offseason. The Lions signed safety James Ihedigbo to replace Louis
Delmas, who signed with Miami as a free agent. Ihedigbo is a smart
player but not as physically talented as Delmas, and shouldn’t be
considered an upgrade.
Otherwise, the team will rely on Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis,
and Glover Quin to cover receivers downfield. None of these players
have shown consistency in pass coverage; the Lions will need at
least one of them to step up if they want their defense to rise above
league-average.
The good news is that with Suh, Fairley, defensive end Ezekiel
Ansah and rookie linebacker Kyle Van Noy, Detroit should have
a stronger pass rush than the unit that produced just 33 sacks last
season. DeAndre Levy is a solid coverage linebacker and Stephen
Tulloch is a capable and well-rounded middle linebacker. The front
seven is strong, but with the secondary remaining a weakness, it’s
likely that Detroit’s defense will be roughly average in 2014.
Defensive Player to Watch
On a team with pass defense issues and two noisemakers on
the line of scrimmage, it’s easy to overlook the man in the middle,
Tulloch. As much as Detroit struggled to defend the pass at times,
their run defense was outstanding. Suh and Fairley certainly
deserve credit for this, but so does Tulloch, who made 93 tackles and
almost always takes the right approach to tackling a ball carrier.
Tulloch is also a solid coverage linebacker, great at finishing
tackles, and chips in with some pass rushing prowess as well. In
other words, Tulloch can do anything his team asks him to do at
the linebacker position. On a team with a reputation for being
undisciplined, Tulloch rarely misses a tackle or finds himself out
of position. He may not be the flashiest player or receive the most
attention, but Tulloch is probably the single most valuable player on
the Lions’ defense.
Lions Special Teams
Last season, the Lions brought in veteran kicker David Akers
to replace longtime veteran Jason Hanson. Akers’ performance
was adequate but not particularly inspiring. He made 19 of 24 field
goals and struggled on kickoffs. The Lions parted with Akers in the
offseason, choosing to spend their seventh round draft pick on Nate
Freese. Freese made all 20 of his field goal attempts at Boston College
last year and will compete with Giorgio Tavecchio for the job.
Jeremy Ross will handle return duties after impressing in that
role last season. In a blizzard against Philadelphia, Ross scored two
return touchdowns, one on a kickoff return and one on a punt
return. Overall,
Ross averaged
24.5 yards per
kickoff return
and 15.5 yards per
punt return. The
punting duties
will be handled
by Sam Martin,
a second-year
player who
averaged 47.2
yards per punt in
his rookie season.
Prediction
The Lions will have no problem putting points on the board due
to continued dominance from Calvin Johnson and the addition of
new weapons in the offense. However, unless the team improves
greatly at limiting turnovers under Jim Caldwell, the defense won’t
be strong enough to prevent this team from losing shootouts. Expect
seven or eight wins on the season.